Rajasthan Royals season preview: Part 2 - strategy and playing XI

Let us have a look at few such instances last season:

- Against KKR at home, the Royals played with 5 seamers and prepared a green track. This not just negated the Narine effect but also played to the Knight Riders batsmen’s weakness, playing pace. Rookie Rahul Shukla was entrusted with and he responded in kind with 2 important wickets.

Rahul Dravid impressed everyone with his innovative captaincy

- In their home match against Mumbai, the gameplan was completely different. He opened with 2 of his spinners, Chavan and Chandila, as Pondulkar was opening and they weren’t exactly the ones to set the guns blazing from the beginning. He got through his spinners with very little damage and Mumbai couldn’t get back from it as they were dismissed for 92.

- Against the Sunrisers, Dravid opened the batting to contravene the Steyn effect and protect his most precious resource, Shane Watson. He had dropped down the order against KKR and MI, knowing that the initial overs could be the best for Watson to cash-in on. On belters, there were cases when Dravid dropped down to even No.8, letting the other, more capable hitters to make the most of the pitch.

- Against RCB at home, Dravid promoted Sanju Samson ahead of Watson in a bid to shield Watson for the latter overs in case the required run-rate got out of hand. The huge gamble paid rich dividends as both Samson and Watson were instrumental in the win.

- Dravid’s genius was best seen in their match against CSK. A spicy pitch, he dropped the successful Chandila for the unknown commodity, Vikramjeet Malik. He didn’t disappoint one bit, as he sent down 3 tidy overs. The rest of the bowlers managed to keep CSK to 141.

Chasing 141 on a green pitch against the accomplished CSK bowling unit was going to be a challenge. Dravid’s ploy of shielding Watson worked remarkably well in this match. Mohit Sharma and Jason Holder started proceedings in belligerent fashion, as Rahane was gone in the 4^th over. Next man in was Faulkner, followed by Samson.

By the time Watson walked out, in the 5^th over, the juice in the pitch was waning. Watto bludgeoned his way to 70, and in the company of Stuart Binny, crafted an easy win for Royals, in spite of being 45-4 at the end of the 10^th over. Experts might call it a defensive move, and would call for giving the best batsmen the maximum number of balls to face. But if it’s successful, it isn’t defensive.

Dravid empowered and entrusted his personnel, and instilled the faith in his team to succeed despite the failings and imperfections. Unlike the “bigger” teams, the lesser known Indian players were given an extended run, and were given the opportunity to strut their stuff. The others had uncapped players in their team to make the numbers; the Royals’ had them in their team to win them matches. The likes of Samson, Binny, Dishant Yagnik, Siddarth Trivedi, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Shukla, et al., all had their moments in the sun.

Dravid showed the world that a team is as good as the captain lets it be. Will it be as good as the coach lets it be? Time will tell.

Possible Playing XI

Knowing the Royals’ team, predicting the playing XI is a risky proposition. I could either get it all wrong and look like a greenhorn, or get it all right and look like a genius. I shall risk it nevertheless.

The first match is against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The top 3 will almost certainly be Dhawan, Finch and Warner. Regardless of the kind of pitch, opening with pacers against these 3 will be hara-kiri. Finch and Warner in particular, though in stupendous form, their weakness against spin is well documented.

Pravin Tambe should be a certainty. Iqbal Abdulla might be preferred as the second spinner, owing to his experience. Deepak Hooda will get a look-in for games in the future.

Shane Watson and James Faulkner will be 2 certainties in the overseas fraternity. Dhawal Kulkarni will be the lone Indian pacer, and giving him company in that department should be Kane Richardson. I would prefer him over Tim Southee and Ben Cutting as he is a pacer and will be a handful against the inexperienced middle order of the Sunrisers.

The 4^th overseas spot will be a toss-up between Steve Smith and Brad Hodge. My pick would be Steve Smith. He is in good form, accomplished against spin (which will come in handy against Mishra and Karan Sharma), a dazzling fielder and has the knack of breaking partnerships with his leg spin.

Rahane, Samson and Binny pick themselves in the Royals’ team. The highly rated but underperforming Unmukt Chand should find himself in the team, in the Top 3 slot. The final spot might be a tossup between Iqbal Abdulla and the canny, underrated Rajat Bhatia. With just one pure spinner in Tambe, Abdulla might get the look-ahead for the first match. Sorry Abhishek Nayar, you don’t seem to be having a spot as of now.

So, my Playing XI for the Royals’ first match against Sunrisers will be

Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Unmukt Chand, Steve Smith , Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner, Kane Richardson, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhawal Kulkarni , Pravin Tambe

Stay tuned for lots more discussions, Match analyses and Dravidisms about the Rajasthan Royal from my end. For now, Halla Bol !!